The Eclogues · Chapter
Pastoral V: Daphnis explained
Menalcas and Mopsus engage in a song contest to honor the memory of Daphnis, who is lamented in an elegy and then celebrated in an apotheosis.
What happens
Menalcas and Mopsus engage in a song contest to honor the memory of Daphnis, who is lamented in an elegy and then celebrated in an apotheosis. Mopsus sings of the mourning of nature and the shepherds at Daphnis's death, while Menalcas proclaims his divinity and the peace his reign brings. The shepherds exchange gifts and promise annual sacrifices to the new god.
Themes in this chapter
Divinity and Fate
The chapter centers on the death and deification of Daphnis, exploring themes of mortality, fate, and the elevation of a mortal to divine status.
Nature and the Pastoral Ideal
Nature mourns Daphnis's death and rejoices in his apotheosis, highlighting the deep connection between the pastoral world and cosmic order.
Characters to notice
- Daphnis
The subject of the elegy and apotheosis; his death is mourned by nature and shepherds, and he is later deified.
- Menalcas
One of the two shepherds in the singing contest; he proclaims Daphnis's divinity and offers a hymn of praise.
- Mopsus
The other shepherd in the contest; he laments Daphnis's death with a mournful song.
- Amyntas
Mentioned as a rival to Mopsus in voice.
- Damoetas
Mentioned as one who will perform the rites for the deified Daphnis.
Key passages
“The nymphs about the breathless body wait / Of Daphnis, and lament his cruel fate.”
The nymphs gather around Daphnis's dead body and mourn his tragic death.
Mopsus begins his elegy by describing the nymphs' grief.
“Daphnis, the guest of heaven, with wondering eyes / Views, in the milky way, the starry skies”
Daphnis, now a guest in heaven, gazes in awe at the stars from the Milky Way.
Menalcas describes Daphnis's apotheosis and his new celestial perspective.
“For Daphnis reigns above, and deals from thence / His mother’s milder beams, and peaceful influence.”
Daphnis rules from heaven, spreading his mother's gentle light and peaceful power.
Menalcas emphasizes the peaceful influence of the deified Daphnis.